Ongoing Local Grants Abstracts

JORDAN

Jordan Center for Strategic Studies: “Examining Public Attitudes toward Parliament and Elections” - As Jordan prepares for its Parliamentary election in the coming months, the Center for Strategic Studies-University of Jordan (CSS) will implement two opinion polls (one of the public, and one of Parliament) to assess their views of Parliament; determine which national issues are of greatest concern to voters; and identify the key determinants of voting decisions in the upcoming Parliamentary election.  To encourage maximum public consideration and examination of these questions and their implications for Jordan’s democratic development, CSS will make a concerted effort to publicize the survey and its content both before and after the polling is conducted.  100 interviewers including students from the University of Jordan will also be involved and trained in the polling process.

Family Guidance and Awareness Center: “Understanding and Exercising Political Rights: Pre-election Outreach to the Women of Zarqa” - A new election provides a new opportunity for change.  As Jordan prepares for its parliamentary election in the coming months, efforts should be made to narrow the “impact gap” that exists between the impact the election will have on poor women and their more affluent, better educated counterparts.  This project will help ensure that the election has a significant and positive impact on the democratic knowledge, perspectives, and participation of women in the poor region of Zarqa. 

Poor women are the group in Jordan whose political participation is most constrained by cultural restrictions. Through this project, the Zarqa Family Guidance Center (FGC) will deliver democracy and civic education workshops for women community leaders in Zarqa, and train them to conduct a door-to-door get-out-the-vote outreach campaign targeting the potential women voters of their communities.   The project will commence with a Jordan-based, international expert conducting a train-the-trainers session for staff of the FGC.  The trained FGC trainers will then train members of FGC-affiliate women centers in the eight municipalities of Zarqa.  Each of those women will in turn undertake a door-to-door GOTV effort in their respective communities, using a basic informative leaflet prepared by the FGC.

Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center through the Jordan Forum for Economic Development:  “Private Sector Partnership for Civic Activism” - Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center, through its Jordan Forum for Economic Development (JFED) will teach civil society organizations (CSOs) to more effectively seek private sector partnerships, and will expand the support that the private sector lends to CSO projects and programs.  Based on the results of a focus group meeting with Jordanian firms, 25 CSOS will receive training and instructional materials on how to effectively garner private sector partnerships.  At least 15 participant CSOs will then, with JFED assistance, draft and present project partnership proposals to Jordanian companies.  JFED will also montior the implementation of those project proposals which succeed in securing partnership and support.  Finally, the best five CSO-private sector partnership projects will be highlighted at a showcase event for a broader audience. 

KUWAIT

Towards Significant & Competent Parliamentary Performance and Dr. Aisha Al Rasheed:  “Developing Women’s Political Leadership in Kuwait” - With the assistance of an international expert, the Kuwaiti Center for Better Parliamentary Performance will:
--develop instructional materials on political participation and political leadership;
--deliver two training modules to Kuwaiti women, “Democratic Processes and Participation” and “Effective Political Leadership”; and,
--host an “Effective Political Campaigns” workshop, delivered directly by an international expert. 

The project will simultaneously address three needs for the effective development of women as political activists and candidates in Kuwait:  First, Develop a local capacity for basic political activism and leadership training. Second, provide an effective, local conduit for more advanced political training delivered by other international experts. Third, help ensure that when parliamentary elections are announced (which in Kuwait’s parliamentary system can be anytime) and campaign seasons are opened (which in Kuwait are very short) there is a cadre of women who have already received fundamental instruction in political leadership.

Dr. Ali Al Zuabi:  “Youth for National Unity:  A Vision for Kuwaiti Democracy” - In collaboration with Student Forces, (an umbrella organization uniting more than 13 student groups), Kuwait University professor Dr. Ali Al Zu’abi will implement a project that is focused on the issue of strengthening national unity in the course of democratic development.  University students will participate in five different activities:

·seminars exploring the issues of national unity and democratic development; and the role of youth in simultaneously strengthening both;
·an essay competition on the same subject;
·training workshops on communication and public speaking skills;
·training workshops on leadership and civic activism;
·a public speaking competition on national unity and democracy.

All 150 students participating (in groups of 25) in the seminars will be invited to submit a short paper to an essay competition on the same subject.  Ten selected essay winners will be invited to receive leadership and civic activism training; communication and public speaking skills training; and invited to draw upon their essays and training to participate in a public speaking event organized on campus.  A panel of prominent Kuwaiti political personalities will choose the winning speech(es) and present awards for the winners at the event, which will be publicized in the local media. The texts of the winning speeches will be disseminated to newspapers, and the DVD recording disseminated to media outlets and via the internet.  Later, the winning speakers will also be invited to interview for inclusion in the 2008 Student Leader Summer Institutes in the United States.

Kuwait Journalists Association represented by Huseein Abdulrahman:  "Seeking International Standards of Free Press Protection" - The new Press and Publications Law that was passed in Kuwait in 2006 contains vague wording that makes it possible for journalists and media outlets to be charged in criminal court for publishing material deemed to negatively impact such things as the “reputation” of the nation and/or government officials.  The leadership and members of the Kuwait Journalists Association (KJA) feel strongly that in order to adequately address the problem, certain provisions of the law must be amended.  In this three-phase project, participants will examine international legal standards for protecting freedom of the press; form a drafting committee to draft suggested amendment language necessary for Kuwaiti law to reflect these standards; and form an advocacy committee that will receive training on how to garner public support for amendments and effectively lobby the Parliament and Government for their passage.

Society for Study and Training in Leadership Development: “Kuwaiti Women Leadership Training” - The Society for Study and Training in Leadership Development develops women’s personal leadership potential in professional and civic settings. The project trains women to assume leadership roles in university, professional, and civic life.  A series of six training programs and dissemination of training materials culminate in a publicized event launching a new network of Kuwaiti women leaders. 

OMAN

Oman Journalists Association:  “Oman Journalists Association (OJA) Media Training Center” - The OJA sets up a training center where expert trainers and materials educate journalists on a broad range of skills and concepts required to fulfill the role of an independent press in a democratic society.   The project produces training modules that raise the professional standards of journalists; improves the coverage of local issues key to Oman's democratic growth; and strengthens the role of the OJA as an NGO committed to advancing freedom of the press and professional, independent reporting.

Community Links: “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations through Volunteerism” - Omani NGOs receive training from international experts on how to best utilize members as active volunteers. Participating Omani organizations learn how to structure themselves effectively through definition of roles and responsibilities of volunteers.  Each participating NGO examines its organizational structure and develops an action plan to effectively engage volunteers to carry out the organization's mission and achieve its goals.

Environmental Society of Oman:  "Citizens Working for Change: Public Participation in Environmental Protection" - The Environmental Society of Oman will increase awareness of Oman's natural resources and teach the importance civic participation in protecting and conserving the environment through school programs and public outreach.

QATAR

The Childhood Cultural Center (CCC): “Student Parliaments in Action” - In ten Qatari schools, the Childhood Cultural Center (CCC) will establish and train Student Parliaments, train teachers to deliver democracy and human rights lessons in their classrooms, and teach principles of democracy and human rights to students and teachers. They will also train a cadre of 20 university-aged Qatari youth to work with student Parliamentarians as facilitators and mentors.  The CCC will be assisted by a Jordanian organization that has successfully implemented a similar MEPI-funded project in Jordan.

Qatar University represented by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar:  “In Their Own Words: Qatari Women Write on Current Affairs” - Qatari Women’s civic engagement deficit to their male counterparts is rooted in culture, lack of knowledge, and lack of experience.  This project will improve the civic engagement and communication skills of university women participants; teaching them to consider, research, and analyze contemporary issues in Qatar, form opinions, and communicate their opinions effectively and persuasively in writing.  In the course of establishing an on-campus, female writers’ club, Qatar University will train female students on effective research, analysis, and opinion writing.  Participants will then be invited to submit an essay to a persuasive writing contest, in which each writer will argue a position on any of three contemporary topics in Qatar: social development, business, or politics.  Selected essays will be compiled into an anthology, and winning essays publicized and distributed to the media.

Moza Al Maliki Training & Consultation Center:   “Promoting Political Participation of Women in Qatari Society” - Moza Al Maliki Training and Consultation Center will educate 40 Qatari university women on democratic values and the importance of female political participation in a 4-week training course. Selected program participants will initiate and lead working groups and activities on these topics on campus, and participate in women get-out-the-vote efforts in Qatar ahead of 2007 parliamentary elections.

Arabic Cultural Center for Training and Consultancy: “Activation of Women’s Role in Democracy Consolidation and Realization of Supremacy of Law” - The Arabic Culture Center for Training and Consultancy seeks to educate Qatari women on the fundamental tenets of democracy; increase their awareness of their basic rights; motivate them to pursue these rights; get them engaged in political, economic and social activities; teach them to make strategic life decisions; and empower them to combat political and economic corruption.  The project will train a group of 30 selected Qatari women student and professional leaders over a 6-month period to become civic activists in one or more of the above issue areas.  

SAUDI ARABIA

King Abdulaziz Philanthropic Women Organization: “Community Advocacy for Women and Girls” The King Abdulaziz Philanthropic Women’s Organization promotes women's empowerment and girls education through training and advocacy efforts, in cooperation with other community organizations and institutions in Al Qassim.  Training and public awareness campaigns to address the high dropout rate of girls in secondary school, and the inequities and obstacles faced by women in the workplace and community.  Selected student participants will be trained as student trainers and funded by the King Abdulaziz Philanthropic Women Organization to conduct peer training and presentations at schools throughout the region.

UAE